Variability in subcortical aphasia is due to variable sites of cortical hypoperfusion

A variety of fluent and nonfluent aphasias have been reported after left basal ganglia stroke. It has been speculated that this heterogeneity may reflect variations in cortical hypoperfusion resulting from large vessel stenosis. To test this hypothesis, a consecutive series of 24 patients with left caudate infarct identified with diffusion-weighted imaging underwent language testing and perfusion-weighted imaging < 24h from onset of symptoms. Specific regions in perisylvian cortex were rated for the percentage of the region that was hypoperfused. Aphasia type was determined on the basis of speech fluency, comprehension, and repetition performance on the language tests. Association between aphasia type/language impairment and regions of hypoperfusion were identified with Fisher's exact tests. Results demonstrated that in patients with acute left caudate infarct, the presence and type of aphasia reflected regions of hypoperfusion, and generally followed predictions based on chronic lesion studies, regarding anatomical lesions associated with classic aphasia types.     

On the ethics of facial transplantation research

Transplantation continues to push the frontiers of medicine into domains that summon forth troublesome ethical questions. Looming on the frontier today is human facial transplantation. We develop criteria that, we maintain, must be satisfied in order to ethically undertake this as-yet-untried transplant procedure. We draw on the criteria advanced by Dr. Francis Moore in the late 1980s for introducing innovative procedures in transplant surgery. In addition to these we also insist that human face transplantation must meet all the ethical requirements usually applied to health care research. We summarize the achievements of transplant surgery to date, focusing in particular on the safety and efficacy of immunosuppressive medications. We also emphasize the importance of risk/benefit assessments that take into account the physical, aesthetic, psychological, and social dimensions of facial disfiguration, reconstruction, and transplantation. Finally, we maintain that the time has come to move facial transplantation research into the clinical phase.     

Depression, self-esteem, and anger in emerging adulthood: seven-year trajectories

This study used a school-based community sample (N=920) to examine trajectories of depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and expressed anger in the critical years of emerging adulthood (ages 18-25). Using data from 5 waves, the authors discovered that multilevel models indicated that, on average, depressive symptoms and expressed anger declined, whereas self-esteem increased. Between-persons predictors of variability in trajectories included gender (gender gaps in depressive symptoms and self-esteem narrowed), parents' education, and conflict with parents (depressive symptoms and expressed anger improved fastest in participants with highly educated parents and in those with higher conflict). Across time, increases in social support and marriage were associated with increased psychological well-being, whereas longer periods of unemployment were connected with higher depression and lower self-esteem. Emerging adulthood is a time of improving psychological well-being, but individual trajectories depend on specific individual and family characteristics as well as role changes.     

Do Early Difficult Temperament and Harsh Parenting Differentially Predict Reactive and Proactive Aggression?

The goal of this study was to examine the links between difficult temperament (i.e., negative emotionality) and harsh parental discipline during toddlerhood, and reactive and proactive aggression in kindergarten. These links were assessed on a longitudinal population-based study of 1516 boys and girls followed longitudinally from the age of 17 months through the age of 72 months. Two possible models were tested to examine the interplay between negative emotionality and harsh parenting in predicting later reactive aggression compared to proactive aggression. The first was an additive model where both aspects make unique contributions in predicting later reactive aggression. The second model was an interactive model where harsh parenting exacerbates the link between negative emotionality and reactive aggression. Results showed a specific contribution of negative emotionality to reactive aggression. The results relative to harsh parenting are more mixed but nonetheless in line with developmental models stressing different pathways to reactive and proactive aggression.     

The association between religiosity and alcohol use: the mediating role of meaning in life and media exposure

We examined whether meaning in life and exposure to media mediate the association between religiosity and alcohol use among members of the Jewish-orthodox community in Israel. One hundred and ten young adult men self-identified as orthodox (n?=?57) or secular (n?=?53) participated in the study. Participants completed self-report measures designed to assess meaning in life, media exposure, alcohol use, and craving. Our findings show that orthodox participants consumed less alcohol and reported less alcohol craving compared to their secular counterparts. Importantly, search for meaning in life and media exposure mediated the relationship between religiosity and alcohol craving. Our findings suggest that religion provides a sense of meaning that serves as a protective factor against alcohol craving, supporting existential theories. Furthermore, our studies show that practices that are associated with a religious lifestyle such as low exposure to mass media also serve as protective factors for alcohol use and craving.     

Testing the developmental distinctiveness of male proactive and reactive aggression with a nested longitudinal experimental intervention

An experimental preventive intervention nested into a longitudinal study was used to test the developmental distinctiveness of proactive and reactive aggression. The randomized multimodal preventive intervention targeted a subsample of boys rated disruptive by their teachers. These boys were initially part of a sample of 895 boys, followed from kindergarten to 17 years of age. Semiparametric analyses of developmental trajectories for self‐reported proactive and reactive aggression (between 13 and 17 years of age) indicated three trajectories for each type of aggression that varied in size and shape (Low, Moderate, and High Peaking). Intent‐to‐treat comparisons between the boys in the prevention group and the control group confirmed that the preventive intervention between 7 and 9 years of age, which included parenting skills and social skills training, could impact the development of reactive more than proactive aggression. The intervention effect identified in reactive aggression was related to a reduction in self‐reported coercive parenting. The importance of these results for the distinction between subtypes of aggressive behaviors and the value of longitudinal‐experimental studies from early childhood onward is discussed. Aggr. Behav. 36:127–140, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Differences in career maturity among adjudicated and nonadjudicated male students with and without disabilities

The authors investigated the level of career maturity of nonadjudicated high school students without disabilities and 3 groups of adjudicated high school students: those without disabilities, those with learning disabilities, and those with emotional disturbance. Also investigated was the relationship between career maturity and behavioral functioning, using the Behavior Assessment System for Children‐Self‐Report of Personality (BASC‐SRP; C. R. Reynolds & R. W. Kamphaus, 1992). No significant differences existed between nonadjudicated and adjudicated students without disabilities. Adjudicated students with emotional disabilities and learning disabilities scored significantly lower than nonadjudicated high school students without disabilities on the overall measure of career maturity. Career maturity was found to be significantly but only moderately related to 8 behavioral domains on the BASC‐SRP.     

Doing Social Identity Leadership: Exploring the Efficacy of an Identity Leadership Intervention on Perceived Leadership and Mobilization in Elite Disability Soccer

Based on social identity principles we explore the efficacy of a leadership intervention in elite disability sport. A 2-year longitudinal design involved an elite male disability soccer team that prepared for a World Championship in Year 1 and then reformed for Paralympic competition in Year 2. Athlete data indicated marginal to significant increases from baseline to intervention phases in social identification, identity leadership displayed by staff, and hours practice completed away from training camps, but no significant change in mobilization of effort (in Year 1 and 2). We discuss the applied implications, study limitations, and opportunities for future researchers.